“I’m very pleased to meet you. To be honest, I was giving up hope of finding an apprentice, then I heard about your farm. Your mother seemed rather resistant. Does your being here leave them awfully short-handed on the farm? I could send a personifate to help, you see? Although strictly speaking, the personifates are owned by the Sovereign Chancellery of Medlock so they stay within the city, but I’m sure we could bend the rules just a little, between you and me.”

“The farm pretty much runs itself and my parents are good enough with the machinery. They’ve just been through a lot in the last year.” A rush of guilt hit Prue. Had she really left her parents? She knew they could manage the farm work – they did when she was at school – but she was their last child; she didn’t want to cause them more pain.

But it would all be made better when she found a way to bring Francis back to them.

“I just had a feeling that I shouldn’t go without leaving the card, so you at least had a choice. Tell me more about what you do on the farm – its machinery is the best I’ve seen north of Medlock.”

“Really?” Her cheeks flushed with pride. “The farm has been in the family for years. Grandma Haywood was great at inventing machines to make the farm work easier and Mum built from there. My first working machine was the mechanimal sheep dog.” Prue had to stop herself mentioning her brother; it seemed wrong to talk about these things when they had developed them together.

“Fascinating. I always say the best way to learn is by getting stuck in. You clearly have a natural talent.”

A gentleman in the same green uniform as the conductor entered their carriage with a bronze trolley.

“You must be hungry,” said Craftsman Primrose. “I ate a large breakfast, but I don’t expect you’ve had time.”

Prue was about to say she was fine with the apple and bread in her bag, then she saw the shiny pastries and buns and her stomach rumbled hungrily. Craftsman Primrose chose a variety for her and poured her a steaming cocoa.